Singapore’s National Gallery and Centre Pompidou Sign Landmark Agreement

Rendering of Singapore's National Gallery, which will open in October 2015
Photo via: National Gallery Singapore

Singapore’s National Gallery, the eagerly awaited art institution that will open its doors in October 2015, has announced its plans for a major exhibition in collaboration with Paris’s Centre Pompidou, which will see significant Southeast Asian artworks displayed alongside highlights from the collection of the French museum.

The two parties signed an agreement in Paris last week, according to Channel News Asia.

“We hope that through this collaboration with Centre Pompidou, our two institutions will find ways to share the arts with many more people in France and Singapore,” said Sam Tan, Singapore’s Minister of State for Culture, Community, and Youth, in a statement.

Marc Chagall's Obsession (1943) will be part of the exhibiton<br>Photo via: Master Works Fine Art

Marc Chagall’s Obsession (1943) will be shown in the exhibition
Photo via: Master Works Fine Art

This exhibition, which will be the first of two annual shows held at the museum’s Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery, marks the launch of a series of collaborations with other international art institutions from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, and the Netherlands.

The exhibition will gather over 200 artworks, and visitors can expect to see works from avant garde masters like Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall sharing the exhibition space with their south-east Asian counterparts, including Georgette Chen and Galo Ocampo.

Singapore seems to be latest objective in the Centre Pompidou’s relentless worldwide expansion. According to the Art Newspaper, its newly appointed president, Serge Lasvignes, has recently been in talks with Chinese officials to discuss a number of joint projects, including pop-ups, across China.

Serge Lasvignes Photo via: La Depeche

Serge Lasvignes
Photo via: La Depeche

Last year, it was rumored that the Pompidou might have been in conversation with Museo Jumex to open at pop-up in Mexico City. Meanwhile, in March, the Paris museum successfully launched its first temporary outpost in Málaga, Spain.


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